By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 9,000 last week to 218,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was slightly lower than estimates of 221,000.
The previous week's reading was revised up from 224,000 to 227,000
The four-week moving average was 212,250, an increase of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average
The US economy added 353,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%.